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Mya (unit)

 

 
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Mya (unit)
 
 
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In astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
, geology
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
, and paleontology
Paleontology

File:Geological time spiral - sharper.pngPaleontology from Greek: pa?a??? "old, ancient", ??, ??t- "being, creature", and ????? "speech, thought" is the study of prehistory life, including organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments ....
, mya or "m.y.a." is an abbreviation for "million years ago". Like the related unit bya
Bya

In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, bya or "b.y.a." is an acronym for billion years ago. This abbreviation is commonly used as a Units of measurement of time to denote length of time before the present....
, mya is traditionally written in lower case.

Although mya is common in popular science writing, in professional literature Ma (megaannum
Annum

Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
) is suggested. In English, the deprecated abbreviation Myr is still used informally.








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In astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
, geology
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
, and paleontology
Paleontology

File:Geological time spiral - sharper.pngPaleontology from Greek: pa?a??? "old, ancient", ??, ??t- "being, creature", and ????? "speech, thought" is the study of prehistory life, including organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments ....
, mya or "m.y.a." is an abbreviation for "million years ago". Like the related unit bya
Bya

In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, bya or "b.y.a." is an acronym for billion years ago. This abbreviation is commonly used as a Units of measurement of time to denote length of time before the present....
, mya is traditionally written in lower case.

Although mya is common in popular science writing, in professional literature Ma (megaannum
Annum

Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
) is suggested. In English, the deprecated abbreviation Myr is still used informally.

Events around 1 mya:


Geologic
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 periods (Neogene
Neogene

The Neogene is a Geologic time scale#Terminology starting 23.03 ? 0.05 million years ago and lasting either until today or ending 2.588 million years ago with the beginning of the Quaternary....
):

  • Pliocene
    Pliocene

    The Pliocene epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 1.806 million years before present.The Pliocene is the second epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic era....
     5.3 to 1.8 mya
    • The last geomagnetic reversal
      Brunhes-Matuyama reversal

      The Brunhes-Matuyama Reversal was a Geology event, approximately 780,000 years ago, when the Earth's magnetic field last underwent Geomagnetic reversal....
       was 0.78 mya
    • The (Eemian Stage) Ice Age
      Ice age

      The general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers....
       started 0.13 mya
  • Holocene
    Holocene

    The Holocene is a geological Epoch which began approximately 11,700 years ago . According to traditional geological thinking, the Holocene continues to the present....
     started 0.01 mya


See also

  • annum
    Annum

    Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
  • Before Present
    Before Present

    Before Present years are a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other science disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use 1950 Common_Era as the arbitrary origin of the age scale....
  • bya
    Bya

    In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, bya or "b.y.a." is an acronym for billion years ago. This abbreviation is commonly used as a Units of measurement of time to denote length of time before the present....
  • tya
    Tya

    In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, tya, sometimes also kya, is an acronym for thousand years ago and is used as a unit of time to denote length of time before the present....